Brain Neoplasms ; complications ; Humans ; Hypothalamic Diseases ; etiology ; Syndrome

Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; surgery ; Male ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; methods

This study is to establish an HPLC-DAD-ELSD method for simultaneous determination of 5 flavones and saponins in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae including neo-mangiferin, mangiferin, timosaponin B II, timosaponin B III and timosaponin A III. Samples were analyzed on a Merck Purospher STAR column(4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile( A) and 0. 1% formic acid (B) with gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL · min(-1). The column temperature was set at 40 °C. The DAD detector wavelength was set at 254 nm. The ELSD conditions were as follows: the nebulizing gas flow rate was 2.0 L · min(-1) and temperature of drift tube was 105 °C. The volume was 10 μL. The five compounds were well separated with good linear correlations. The mean recoveries were between 102.0%-104.0%. This method was quick and reliable which provides a foundation for quality control of R. Anemarrhenae.
Anemarrhena ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; instrumentation ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Flavones ; analysis ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Saponins ; analysis

BACKGROUNDRecently, the number of patients with prostate cancer who needed to be treated with radical prostatectomy increased rapidly in China. There is still a difference between clinical staging and the post-operative final pathologic staging; hence, an excellent tool for accurately predicting the pathologic stages of prostate cancer is needed urgently in clinical practice. The Partin tables are the most popular and widely used tool for predicting the pathologic stages of prostate cancer because of its high accuracy and ease of implementation. The aim of this study was to externally validate the accuracy of the three versions of the Partin tables in predicting the post-operative pathologic stages in Chinese patients with prostate cancer.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the data from 203 patients with prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomies between June 2000 and May 2012. The accuracies of the three versions of the Partin tables in predicting the post-operative pathologic stages in Chinese patients with prostate cancer were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

RESULTSUsing the 1997, 2001, and 2007 Partin tables for predicting the current cases, the AUC of organ confinement (OC) was 0.877, 0.788, and 0.726; the AUC of extracapsular extension (ECE) was 0.525, 0.615, and 0.608; the AUC of seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) was 0.875, 0.649, and 0.820; and the AUC of pelvic lymph node invasion (LNI) was 0.808, 0.758, and 0.735 respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe accuracies of the three versions of Partin tables in predicting OC, SVI, and LNI were good, especially the 2001 Partin table for SVI. In contrast, the accuracy of the three versions of the Partin tables in predicting ECE was fair. The 1997 Partin table was much better than the 2007 table in predicting OC, and the 2001 table in predicting SVI. The 2007 Partin table did not show any advantages.

Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Staging ; Nomograms ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of mirror therapy using a tablet PC for post-stroke central facial paresis. METHODS: A prospective, randomized controlled study was performed. Twenty-one post-stroke patients were enrolled. All patients performed 15 minutes of orofacial exercise twice daily for 14 days. The mirror group (n=10) underwent mirror therapy using a tablet PC while exercising, whereas the control group (n=11) did not. All patients were evaluated using the Regional House–Brackmann Grading Scale (R-HBGS), and the length between the corner of the mouth and the ipsilateral earlobe during rest and smiling before and after therapy were measured bilaterally. We calculated facial movement by subtracting the smile length from resting length. Differences and ratios between bilateral sides of facial movement were evaluated as the final outcome measure. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar for the two groups. There were no differences in the scores for the basal Modified Barthel Index, the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, R-HBGS, and bilateral differences and ratios of facial movements. The R-HBGS as well as the bilateral differences and ratios of facial movement showed significant improvement after therapy in both groups. The degree of improvement of facial movement was significantly larger in the mirror group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Mirror therapy using a tablet PC might be an effective tool for treating central facial paresis after stroke.
Facial Paralysis* ; Humans ; Mouth ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prospective Studies ; Smiling ; Stroke*

Optimization of cultivation condition of recombinant E. coli DH5 alpha/pDH-B2m and the condition suitable for expression of recombinant mature peptide of human bone morphogenetic protein-2 was carried out in 500 mL shaking flasks and then transferred to NBS Bioflo IV, a 20 L DO feed-back fed-batch culture system, to obtain rhBMP-2. The results indicate that keeping dissolved oxygen at 40% and controlling nutrient feeding rate with DO feed back strategy can obtain theoretically 3.59 g recombinant mature peptide of hBMP-2 per liter of broth, the final cell density OD600 reaches 57(22.8 g dry cell weight/L), and the expression of rhBMP-2 amounts to 30% of the total protein in E. coli.
Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Culture Media ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Fermentation ; Glycerol ; pharmacology ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Time Factors ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

OBJECTIVEUndried silver-hydroxyapatite-titania (Ag-nHA-nTiO2) nanoparticles slurry was used to make membrane with polyamide 66 (PA66) by co-polymerization method. The purpose of this study is to test the physical and chemical characteristics and antibacterial ability.

METHODSThe morphology, chemical components and structures of the membrane were characterized by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) and Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) were utilized to test the antibacterial effect.

RESULTSXRD results demonstrated that the membrane have characteristic diffraction peaks of pure hydroxyapatite (HA). A homogeneous distribution of the Ca, P, Ti and Ag element in the membrane was confirmed by EDX. Both surface and section showed porous structure which was confirmed by SEM and the average hole size was 20-30 microm. The bacteria assay reflected to the antibacterial effect, 50.10% of S. aureus and 56.31% of E. coli were killed. However, 91.84% of P. gingivalis, 90.64% of F. nucleatum and 90.49% of S. mutans were killed and pictures of SEM showed obviously fewer cells on the surface.

CONCLUSIONThe nanocomposite membrane could be one of the bioactive materials with antibacterial properties for oral guided bone regeneration technique.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bone Regeneration ; Durapatite ; Escherichia coli ; Nanocomposites ; Nylons ; Silver ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Titanium ; X-Ray Diffraction

OBJECTIVEAim of our study was to compare hematological parameters in Tibetan natives with those in Han migrants living on the Tibet plateau in order to determine the potential effects of age, gender, and ethnicity on hematological response to hypoxia.

METHODSBlood hemoglobin (Hb, g/dl), hematocrit (Hct, %), red blood cells (RBC,10(6)/mm3) were measured in 3 588 healthy Tibetan natives and 3 371 Han migrants ranging in age from 5 to 72 years, living at a mean altitudes of 2 664 m, 3 813 m, 4 525m and 5 226 m.

RESULTSHemoglobin (Hb) concentration analysis was made by multiple regression equations relating hemoglobin to altitude and age. For 2 093 Han males, Hb = 9.612+ 0.001440xaltitude+ 0.06148xage. For 1 948 Tibetan males, Hb =12.202+ 0.000462xaltitude+ 0.02893xage. For 1 278 Han females, Hb = 10.858+ 0.000939xaltitude+ 0.02632xage. For 1 640 Tibetan females, Hb = 11.402+ 0.000626xaltitude+ 0.00412xage. Each of the four equations was statistically significant (P < 0.001), and had variance (r2) of 0.86 or more, indicating that altitude and age accounted for at least 85% of the variation in hemoglobin levels. The coefficients for altitude and for age were higher (P < 0.05) in Han males than in Tibetan males and higher (P < 0.05) in Han females than in Tibetan females. The Tibetan postmenopausal females had higher Hb values than premenopausal females only presented at altitude above 4 000 m while this phenomenon was beginning at altitude of 2 664 m among Han females.

CONCLUSIONWe conclude that gender and increasing age in Tibetans are associated with lower hemoglobin values than those in Han at high altitude, and we speculate that genetic factors seems to be important.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Altitude ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Ethnic Groups ; Female ; Hematocrit ; Hemoglobins ; analysis ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; ethnology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tibet ; Transients and Migrants ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: We conducted this study to evaluate the clinical impact of early enteral nutrition (EN) on in-hospital mortality and outcome in patients with critical hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 123 ICH patients with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 3-12. We divided the subjects into two groups : early EN group (< 48 hours, n = 89) and delayed EN group (> or = 48 hours, n = 34). Body weight, total intake and output, serum albumin, C-reactive protein, infectious complications, morbidity at discharge and in-hospital mortality were compared with statistical analysis. RESULTS: The incidence of nosocomial pneumonia and length of intensive care unit stay were significantly lower in the early EN group than in the delayed EN group (p < 0.05). In-hospital mortality was less in the early EN group than in the delayed EN group (10.1% vs. 35.3%, respectively; p = 0.001). By multivariate analysis, early EN [odds ratio (OR) 0.229, 95% CI : 0.066-0.793], nosocomial pneumonia (OR = 5.381, 95% CI : 1.621-17.865) and initial GCS score (OR = 1.482 95% CI : 1.160-1.893) were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients with critical hypertensive ICH. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that early EN is an important predictor of outcome in patients with critical hypertensive ICH.
Body Weight ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Enteral Nutrition ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intensive Care Units ; Intracranial Hemorrhage, Hypertensive ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pneumonia ; Retrospective Studies ; Serum Albumin

The authors found that the fourth author's affiliation had been inadvertently omitted.